Learn CI/CD Automation with Terraform and CircleCI

Integrating new software into established workflows can be challenging. Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) platforms like CircleCI provide automated, structured pipelines for new releases. Infrastructure management, typically handled by operations teams, can also fit into an automated release workflow using infrastructure as code with Terraform.

To help you get started with CI/CD automation, we've published a new tutorial that walks you through deploying new infrastructure using Terraform, automatically triggered by CircleCI.

» Why Terraform?

CircleCI is a continuous integration tool for automation of software builds, tests, and deployments. The continuous integration workflow allows development teams to automate, self-test, quickly build, clone, and deploy software. Terraform allows for repeatable infrastructure deployment, so by adding Terraform to a CircleCI workflow, you can deploy your infrastructure alongside software in the same pipeline.

Terraform Cloud allows for remote state and automated runs from CircleCI, so your infrastructure can be deployed in the same way.

» What you'll learn

In this track, you will create the underlying infrastructure for a static website with Terraform, and deploy a webapp with CircleCI in the same workflow.

» CI/CD + Terraform = Dev/Ops

Whether you are a developer responsible for software deployment or a sysadmin building underlying systems, you will be able to use your skills to deploy infrastructure as code, resulting in a working application to test.

You will start by learning how to use your CircleCI workflow in a standard deployment cycle.

workflows:
  version: 2
  build_plan_approve_apply:
    jobs:
      - build
      - plan:
          requires:
            - build
      - apply:
          requires:
            - plan
      - deployment:
          requires:
            - apply
      - hold:
          type: approval
          requires:
            - deployment
      - destroy:
          requires:
            - hold

You will also create a Terraform Cloud workspace and learn how to integrate your infrastructure into your CircleCI build settings.

» Deploy and destroy

By the end of the guide, you will have a successful deployment and a safe destruction process.

» Try the new guide with demo code

To run through a live deployment with an accompanying code repo, visit HashiCorp Learn.

If you would like to learn more about CircleCI or automated Terraform workflow best practices, consider these resources:

• Running Terraform in Automation
• CircleCI Configuration reference
• Automate Your Infrastructure with GitOps, Terraform & CircleCI